Siege of Bovianum (317 BC)

The Siege of Bovianum was a two-year siege of the Samnite city of Bovianum that lasted from 319 to 317 BC, The Roman Senate dispatched Secundus Julius with a legion of 548 troops to capture Bovianum and end the rebellion of the Samnites in southern Italy (the region of Samnium), and the Romans succeeded in repelling a Samnite breakout before capturing the city. Bovianum's fall was a blow to the Samnites, and 4,281 Samnites were enslaved after the city's fall.

Siege
In 319 BC, the Roman Republic was at war with the Samnites of the Samnium region in southern Italy. Rome had just finished conquering northern Italy from the Umbri Gauls, and the Roman Senate called upon Secundus Julius - the son of the late hero Gaius Julius - to lead an army south and quash the Samnite uprising. Secundus led an army of 548 troops south and laid siege to Bovianum, intending on starving the besieged Samnites out until they were forced to surrender. However, the Samnites sallied forth in winter of 317 BC, and the Romans were forced to engage them in battle. The Romans arrayed their army outside of the city as the Samnites charged out, and the Romans successfully held their line against the numerically-superior Samnite army. Posthumus was slain in the ensuing battle, and the Samnite army's attack crumbled as their morale collapsed and their men were slaughtered by the veteran Roman soldiers. The Samnite attack was defeated, and the Romans took Bovianum. The Romans proceeded to enslave 4,281 Samnites from the city and distribute them across the empire, removing the threat of another Samnite uprising in Bovianum. The fall of the city was a blow to the Samnite cause, and Secundus Julius was seen as a worthy successor to his father by the Senate.